LARAMIE, Wyoming (10/31/25) – Joey Novak's 2025-26 wrestling season commences exactly how it ended. The University of Wyoming junior will square off with Little Rock's Stephen Little at the NWCA All-Star Classic inside Jersey Mike's Arena on the campus of Rutgers University.

Both Novak's and Little's most recent collegiate wrestling match occurred against one another. The two met at the 2025 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, in the fifth-place match, and Novak walked away with a 13-5 major decision victory.

That punctuated a one-of-a-kind NCAA run for Novak. He captured six wins and four of them were bonus-point victories, which is the most for a Cowboy at any one NCAAs in school history.

It has been seven months since that magical NCAA run and All-American recognition. Novak's coaching staff is eager to see what the No. 3-ranked 197-pounder has in store for an encore.   

"I'm just excited to see Joey compete," assistant coach Branson Ashworth said. "He put in an amazing summer of training, so I'm excited for him to showcase everything he's worked on and show his growth. I want to see him go out and compete fearlessly and score points."

Novak showed tremendous growth from Year 1 to Year 2, and that directly relates to Little. The two faced off during the 2024 NCAA Championships, and Little held the upper hand, winning via major decision, 13-5.

Novak flipped that script one year later in what was a 28-7 season for him with 11 ranked wins. He finished a disappointing fifth at the Big 12 Tournament prior to being the second-highest seeded guy to finish in the top five at the 2025 NCAAs.

The NWCA All-Star Classic is designed for the best wrestlers to go against one another in an exhibition to kick off the season. No. 3 Novak and No. 4 Little is just one of 15 bouts slated for Saturday. There will also be four women's matches, one Division II versus Division III matchup and nine other Division I bouts.